James Argent reveals all about taking part in a dietary experiment to live without sugar for a couple of weeks

Six well known celebrities undergo a dietary experiment to live without sugar for two weeks. They have to turn their backs on the modern food industry as they live and work on a country farm in return for their share of healthy, wholesome food. As they attempt to beat their addiction to sugar it will push their bodies to the limits. James Argent talks about his decision to take part in the experiment. Sugar Free Farm can be seen on Tuesday evenings at 8pm on ITV from January 26th.

Why did you want to take part in Sugar Free farm?

Well really from a health perspective, as I’ve always gone up and down with my weight, yo-yo dieted, so the thought of conquering that was appealing . Also I wanted to gain some more knowledge and experience as to the right things to eat, what things I needed to be cutting out and how I could change my life.

Did you eat a lot of sugar before taking part in the series?

Yes, I was consuming a fair amount of sugar, in chocolates, chewy sweets, fizzy drinks, milkshakes, ice cream. It was just no good.

How did you find the experience of living on the farm?

I loved the experience, but there were times when I found it hard, being away from home, living with people I’d never met before, that could be quite tough at times. I also found the working hours quite hard and just how tough the work was living on a farm. I’ve got to take my hat off to farmers and show them huge respect. And doing all that work with no sugar in your body. There were times when I felt exhausted and irritable, and my moods would change. It was quite full on, but what an experience.

Any stand out moments for you?

I did have a bit of an incident with some milk, in that unfortunately I spilt rather a lot of it. I don’t think one of the farmers was too impressed with me. It was quite a substantial amount! That was a case of me being up at the crack of dawn and exhausted. I’m not used to being up at that time. So unfortunately things didn’t quite go to plan.

How did you find the food that you ate on the farm?

It did surprise me that some of the sugar-free meals were actually quite nice. I thought beforehand that I wouldn’t be able to eat any of it but I was surprised. The breakfasts were good, and I loved the chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries. There were actually plenty of things that I didn’t mind eating. There were some things that I found horrific though, like the sugar-free carrot cake. I think there are some things that for me just don’t work. Sometimes doing sugar-free options just doesn’t work.

What did you learn about sugar through making the series?

I learnt a heck of a lot, about what sugar can do to you, the health effects, its effects on your weight. I learnt about the sugar-free options you can have as a substitute, and I had a great experience finding out what it’s like to live on a farm. It was really just a great experience all round and I ’m really glad I did it. I learnt a lot, met some cool people. I’ve now got the knowledge to know how to limit the sugar in my diet, so there are no excuses. But it’s not just about the knowledge, it’s about having the right mind-set to do it. I can also now give people advice and the right tips if they want to lose weight.